Number of potholes drops on main roads, but rises on local streets

The number of potholes on Essex roads have dropped by 20 per cent in just three months.

But the number of defects which need work in local roads has increased from 11,674 to 12,972.

In April, there were 1,280 defects on the county’s main roads. Now, there are 1,073.

Secondary roads in the county had 3,296 reported pot holes. That number has been reduced to 2,590.

Rodney Bass, Essex County Council highways boss, said: “This is excellent news following a prolonged period of intensive work to bring Essex’s priority routes up to the standard our residents expect.”

The council has also put 20 extra four-man crews on the roads in a bid to fix all pot holes by March 31, 2015.

Mr Bass added: “We are also aiming to tackle the worst 700 urban local roads during this period, dealing not only with carriageway work but also with pavements, drains, curbs and other street furniture.”

Figures published on Friday show, across all three networks, 8,300 defects have been repaired since April.